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News roundup
Chase quietly removed the IHG co-branded credit card from its website last night, and the direct application link started returning a 404 Error. There were already reports that Chase planned to replace the current IHG card with two new IHG cards. In fact, this card news had already come out as early as June 2017 in a survey Chase sent to some users (DOC article), and it is eerily consistent with what was described then.
More rumors about the new cards are still coming in, so let’s take a look.
Chase IHG Premier Credit Card
New card overview
Based on screenshots shared by Straight to the Points, this appears to be the IHG Rewards Club Premier card (Premier is worn out to the point of absurdity; maybe the next one will be Reserve). The specific features are as follows:
Differences from the old Chase IHG card include:
- Annual fee of $89, appears to not be waived in the first year (old card was $49, first year waived)
- Annual free night certificate, but only at Eligible Hotels (old card worked at any IHG hotel)
- 10x IHG points on IHG spend (old card: 5x)
- Welcome bonus of 80,000 points (old versions have shown 60,000-100,000)
- Bonus on high spending: spend $20,000 for an extra 10,000 points (not on the old card)
- 20% bonus point purchase discount (not on the old card)
- $100 reimbursement for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck (not on the old card)
- Fourth room free on points redemption (not on the old card)
Same as the old IHG card:
- 2x points for dining, gas, and groceries; 1x everywhere else
- 5,000 bonus points when adding an authorized user
- IHG Platinum status automatically
- No foreign transaction fees
Benefits that are no longer in the new card but were on the old one:
- Automatic 10% redemption bonus on points
My analysis
I think the biggest reason many people held on to the old IHG card (as a "drawer" card) was that a $49 annual fee for one free night anywhere in the IHG system worldwide is hard to beat. For example, IHG hotels near Times Square on New Year’s Eve can go for $1,500+, and one free-night certificate can cover that almost entirely. The new card’s free-night benefit now adds an eligible-hotel restriction, which definitely feels a little fishy. It could be that IHG has added many blackout dates (similar to Farimont free nights), or limited it by status level—either way, it feels less attractive.
Replacing the old 10% points redemption bonus with a fourth-night-free perk (effectively a 25% discount) is a very strong discount for people who stay longer. Flexibility-wise, it’s not as good as a flat 10% back. From a value perspective, these two discounts are probably similar for IHG overall. The 10x earn rate on IHG spend may bring many people away from generic travel cards and over to the IHG card, since 10x is effectively about 5% back. Global Entry reimbursement is basically everywhere now; everyone probably has one.
The extra 20% discount on point purchases also looks interesting. IHG points are often sold with a 100% bonus, so their effective cost can be around 0.5¢ each. If you combine that with the extra 20% discount, the point cost drops to roughly 0.4¢. If the purchased points are then used for a four-night stay and you get the fourth-night-free benefit, your hotel cost gets even lower. If that works out, a lot of people would be willing to buy points—or even hoard some IHG points—for stays.
If your plan is to hold only one IHG card, the new card is a downside from a fee standpoint: it starts at $89, compared with the old card’s first-year waiver. That said, Chase could still end up adding a first-year annual-fee waiver at the end.
Overall, as long as the free-night restrictions are not too tight, the new and old cards are about evenly matched. The new card adds $50 in annual fee but also many more points-related benefits, making it more than a drawer card and much more connected to IHG hotel stays. Right now, with only one signup bonus in mind, the old card appears to be better.
Chase IHG Rewards Club Card
The card leak details so far are mainly the annual fee and 5x IHG earning. But based on a second survey in that same DOC article, it should have the following features:
- Annual fee of $29
- 5x IHG points on IHG spend; 2x on gas, groceries, and dining; 1x on everything else
- Welcome bonus of 60,000
- 20% bonus point purchase discount (not on the old card)
- Fourth room free on points redemption
- IHG Gold status after $10,000 in annual spend
- No foreign transaction fees
My analysis
First, I don’t think this lower-end card will have an annual Free Night benefit, because a $29 annual fee simply can’t support the cost of a free-night certificate. Aside from that, fourth-night-free is still a pretty nice perk. If you’re not interested in spending an extra $60 to get an annual Free Night, but you do want the fourth-night-free benefit, this card may be worth keeping because the annual fee is low. Paired with the extra 20% point-purchase discount and normal IHG point-buy promotions, IHG points could be purchased at a relatively low cost, which can make IHG stays attractive too.
Application and the future of the old card
The application link for the old IHG card ( $49 annual fee, free night at any level) is still valid at the moment. Based on earlier Farimont experience, it should survive for a few more days. Once the new cards are officially available, that link will almost certainly disappear. So should you apply for the old card now?
My view is that applying for the old version now makes sense: its annual fees for the first few years should not change and benefits likely won’t be modified right away. After that, Chase will probably let users choose whether to switch to one of the two new IHG cards. A few years later, when the population of old-cardholders has dropped enough, a forced conversion may follow to lower Chase’s costs. If you care about the signup bonus and the annual free night, I suggest applying for this old IHG card now. Also, these two new cards are not exactly the same product as the old IHG card. So even if you already have the old card, you should likely still be able to get the new card’s welcome bonus (possibly requiring that you no longer hold the old card). So applying for the old card now to grab the signup bonus first is a reasonable option.
From a harsher perspective, this card swap is likely because the old card had high cost and lower returns for Chase. For us, that means lower cost and higher value. So go ahead and apply for the old card while you still can, and decide later.
Application link
Expired